Imran Khan says mid-May Pakistan will see more COVID-19 cases; cites 'biggest problem'

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that the country will see an increased number of cases of Coronavirus during mid-May. He also said that his government took timely action, including an early lockdown, to contain the spread of Coronavirus, and asked the people to continue following the official guidelines, otherwise, it would be difficult to control the situation.

'Coronavirus cases are expected to increase'

Addressing media persons, Khan said, "The Coronavirus cases are expected to increase from May 15 to May 20. The hospitals as we were predicting earlier would have been under pressure April 15 onwards. However, that has moved forward by a month to May 15."

He also said that a bigger crisis of Coronavirus was averted due to the lockdown that the government initiated mid-March. Khan said, "50,000 cases were expected by April 25, but we were saved from the disaster as we implemented lockdown in March when there were only fewer cases in the country."

Khan also stressed that unemployment and hardships of daily wage labourers remain a challenge for his government. "The biggest problem is that labour workforce is not registered in our country," he said, adding, "The government opened the construction industry to protect people from unemployment and hunger."

Govt succumbs to pressure from hardline clerics

Pakistan on Saturday decided to let the Ramazan prayers go on in mosques despite Coronavirus cases in the country crossing the 7,500-mark. Pakistan President Arif Alvi said on Saturday that the mosques in the country would remain open during Ramzan but the people would have to follow strict guidelines that the government would release in regard to prayers in mosques, The Express Tribune reported.

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Alvi chaired a meeting of top religious scholars in the country on Saturday to arrive at the decision. He said: "The entire nation is looking towards the government and the religious scholars to come up with a consensus policy on the matter."

Meanwhile, it was reported that two women who returned to Pakistan from India via the Wagah border tested positive for the novel Coronavirus. They were among 41 people who returned to the country on Thursday, according to The Express Tribune newspaper. As of Saturday, Pakistan has reported 7,516 cases of Coronavirus. The toll due to COVID-19 stands at 143.

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(With agency inputs)